Mechanical properties of a Gum-type Ti-Nb-Zr-Fe-O alloy

A new Gum-type alloy (Ti-Nb-Zr-Fe-O) in which Fe is used instead of Ta was subjected to a particular thermomechanical processing scheme to assess whether its mechanical characteristics (fine beta-grains with high strength and low modulus) render it suitable as a biomedical implant material. After a homogenization treatment followed by cold-rolling with 50% reduction, the specimens were subjected to one of three different recrystallization treatments at 1073, 1173, and 1273 K. The structural and mechanical properties of all of the treated specimens were analyzed. The mechanical characterization included tensile tests, microhardness determinations, and fractography by scanning electron microscopy. The possible deformation mechanisms were discussed using the (Bo) over bar - (Md) over bar diagram. By correlating all of the experimental results, we concluded that the most promising processing variant corresponds to recrystallization at 1073 K, which can provide suitable mechanical characteristics for this type of alloys: high yield and ultimate tensile strengths (1038 and 1083 MPa, respectively), a low modulus of elasticity (62 GPa), and fine crystalline grain size (approximately 50 mu m).